lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.”
-- Speaker (Line 5)

Importance: This reference to twelve fingers compounds the image of a witch isolated from social convention. It may be a reference to Anne Boleyn, who was widely believed to have six fingers on one hand (a myth later disproven, but prevalent in Anne Sexton’s time). The concept of a physical conformity was one broadly associated with witchcraft and the devil; here, the speaker is recapturing it as a symbol of power.

I have found the warm caves in the woods, / filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves, / closets, silks, innumerable goods”
-- Speaker (Lines 8-10)

Importance: This line uses a list format to describe this new setting introduced by the second stanza. The objects are at odds with each other, with some suggesting remnants of early humanity and others being more at home in modern times. This heightens the idea that the speaker exists outside of conventional time, and that...